Sean Connery's son Jason has an even worse track record for picking good movies. He stars as the eponymous protagonist in "Today You Die" director Don E. FauntLeRoy's execrable superhero saga "Stan Lee's Lightspeed" with Lee Majors and Nicole Eggert. Stan Lee must have collected a good paycheck for the Sci-Fi Channel to plaster his name all over this tedious tripe about a super hero who resembles the D.C. Comic's hero "The Flash" as well as Marvel Comic's "Quicksilver." This shoddy, shoe-string budget, made-for-cable actioneer is short on thrills and chills, and scenarist John Gray's screenplay regurgitates the same dull dialogue that you've heard ten-thousand times. Indeed, the cast could have done this lame, larger-than-life epic without rehearsing because they've used the same dialogue in so many films. Apparently, lenser/helmer Don E. FauntLeRoy took a break from directing Steven Seagal thrillers so that he could pick up a quick paycheck. He made this predictable potboiler between "Mercenary for Justice" and "Urban Justice."
Jason Connery of "Casablanca Express" stars as the hero, Daniel Leight, a member of an elite government group called "Ghost Squad" headed up by Tanner (Lee Majors of "The Six-Million Dollar Man") that hunts down terrorists. When these heavily-armed guys hit the road, they cruise around in big, black, SUVs. Another member of the team is a pretty little thing named Beth (Nicole Eggert) who keeps her clothes on this time unlike she did in her television series "Baywatch" where she played Summer Quinn. Mind you, poor Nicole is around primarily to serve as a hostage later on for the villain to hold because he hates the hero.
Daniel has a close scientist friend, Edward (Daniel Goddard), who has been laboring long and hard in his laboratory to use snake DNA to help regenerate skin for burn victims. A tragic car crash burned his girlfriend from head to toe and looks like the mummy in bandages at the hospital. Typically, as it is with these comic book style scientists, Edward uses himself as a guinea pig in his own experiments. When Daniel learns from Senator Paul Davis (James Jamison) that Congress is going to pull the plug on Edward's research, he pleads to let Davis allow him to break the bad news to Daniel. Daniel is so consumed with his research that he takes the news in the worse way possible and blames everybody when the government suits show up to wrap yellow DO NOT CROSS tape around his building.
Edward refuses to take no for an answer. He breaks into his own building, destroys everything and in the process he turns himself into the reptilian Python who wears a hooded cloaked not unlike Dr. Doom from the "Fantastic Four" films. You can tell that the venerable Stan Lee plagiarized himself for his larger-than-life characters here, but they end up looking like caricatures of anything that he created in his prime at Marvel Comics. On the other hand, some Marvel Comics enthusiasts might cite Spider-Man's nemesis, The Lizard, as the model for Edward as Python. The Lizard been scrutinizing the regenerative properties of lizards as a cure for the loss of a limb. Anyway, Daniel turns up in the building at the same time that Edward destroys it and fights the villain who is covered in snake skin and likes to hiss. Meanwhile, the Ghost Squad arrives on the scene and pulls Daniel out of the rubble. Indeed, Daniel appears done for until Dr. Finlay (Michael Flynn of "Con Express") gets his medical mitts on him and replaces his crushed legs with titanium substitutes. Nevertheless, Daniel's chances of survival much less his future with the Ghost Squad looks in dire jeopardy. The fiendish Python tries to finish off our hero at the hospital when he gives him a super dose of radiation. Hmn, sounds like "Hulk?"
Miraculously, the radiation doesn't kill Daniel. It helps him recover. As it turns out, Daniel can race around like nobody's business and so he takes the name of Lightspeed. Initially, Dr. Finlay is puzzled by those mysterious burns on Daniel's face. He believes that it is the side effects of the radiation. Daniel knows better and the next time he goes to an athletic store and has a stoner make up a suit of existing material that will protect him when he hauls ass around in an effort to save lives and stop the malignant Python from realizing his aims. Ultimately, the Python concocts a plan to blow Washington, D.C. to kingdom come that he calls 'Operation Firesky' as revenge for those dastards that cut his funding.
Jason Connery lacks the charisma of his famous father and he brings nothing to the role of "Lightspeed." Moreover, he looks absolutely ridiculous as the hero in a blue suit racing around with bad special effects that provide little help. Daniel Goddard is only marginally better as the hopelessly misguided villain. Lee Majors delivers his lines without bumping into any walls and it takes the surprise finale to realize why he plays everything so straight. Nicole Eggert adds nothing to his farce. Save yourself 88 minutes of shame and pain and skip "Lightspeed." Although he served as one of the producers, Stan Lee must have realized when he saw the final product that a cameo was out of the question.
Jason Connery of "Casablanca Express" stars as the hero, Daniel Leight, a member of an elite government group called "Ghost Squad" headed up by Tanner (Lee Majors of "The Six-Million Dollar Man") that hunts down terrorists. When these heavily-armed guys hit the road, they cruise around in big, black, SUVs. Another member of the team is a pretty little thing named Beth (Nicole Eggert) who keeps her clothes on this time unlike she did in her television series "Baywatch" where she played Summer Quinn. Mind you, poor Nicole is around primarily to serve as a hostage later on for the villain to hold because he hates the hero.
Daniel has a close scientist friend, Edward (Daniel Goddard), who has been laboring long and hard in his laboratory to use snake DNA to help regenerate skin for burn victims. A tragic car crash burned his girlfriend from head to toe and looks like the mummy in bandages at the hospital. Typically, as it is with these comic book style scientists, Edward uses himself as a guinea pig in his own experiments. When Daniel learns from Senator Paul Davis (James Jamison) that Congress is going to pull the plug on Edward's research, he pleads to let Davis allow him to break the bad news to Daniel. Daniel is so consumed with his research that he takes the news in the worse way possible and blames everybody when the government suits show up to wrap yellow DO NOT CROSS tape around his building.
Edward refuses to take no for an answer. He breaks into his own building, destroys everything and in the process he turns himself into the reptilian Python who wears a hooded cloaked not unlike Dr. Doom from the "Fantastic Four" films. You can tell that the venerable Stan Lee plagiarized himself for his larger-than-life characters here, but they end up looking like caricatures of anything that he created in his prime at Marvel Comics. On the other hand, some Marvel Comics enthusiasts might cite Spider-Man's nemesis, The Lizard, as the model for Edward as Python. The Lizard been scrutinizing the regenerative properties of lizards as a cure for the loss of a limb. Anyway, Daniel turns up in the building at the same time that Edward destroys it and fights the villain who is covered in snake skin and likes to hiss. Meanwhile, the Ghost Squad arrives on the scene and pulls Daniel out of the rubble. Indeed, Daniel appears done for until Dr. Finlay (Michael Flynn of "Con Express") gets his medical mitts on him and replaces his crushed legs with titanium substitutes. Nevertheless, Daniel's chances of survival much less his future with the Ghost Squad looks in dire jeopardy. The fiendish Python tries to finish off our hero at the hospital when he gives him a super dose of radiation. Hmn, sounds like "Hulk?"
Miraculously, the radiation doesn't kill Daniel. It helps him recover. As it turns out, Daniel can race around like nobody's business and so he takes the name of Lightspeed. Initially, Dr. Finlay is puzzled by those mysterious burns on Daniel's face. He believes that it is the side effects of the radiation. Daniel knows better and the next time he goes to an athletic store and has a stoner make up a suit of existing material that will protect him when he hauls ass around in an effort to save lives and stop the malignant Python from realizing his aims. Ultimately, the Python concocts a plan to blow Washington, D.C. to kingdom come that he calls 'Operation Firesky' as revenge for those dastards that cut his funding.
Jason Connery lacks the charisma of his famous father and he brings nothing to the role of "Lightspeed." Moreover, he looks absolutely ridiculous as the hero in a blue suit racing around with bad special effects that provide little help. Daniel Goddard is only marginally better as the hopelessly misguided villain. Lee Majors delivers his lines without bumping into any walls and it takes the surprise finale to realize why he plays everything so straight. Nicole Eggert adds nothing to his farce. Save yourself 88 minutes of shame and pain and skip "Lightspeed." Although he served as one of the producers, Stan Lee must have realized when he saw the final product that a cameo was out of the question.